An IFA survey of fertiliser costs across Ireland has shown that prices are between €50/t and €60/t higher than last year.

Farmer buyer groups were quoted €180/t for CAN in August and September, however this has jumped in recent days to between €245 and €265 for CAN.

Granular urea is selling for between €348/t and €375/t, while 18-6-12 and 27-2.5-5 range in price from €345/t to €375/t.

All prices were for delivery to the farmyard, and co-ops told the Irish Farmers Journal that fertiliser delivered directly from the depot to the farmyard was cheaper rather than collecting it from the co-op.

IFA inputs chair John Coughlan told the Irish Farmers Journal that the price of natural gas used in the production of fertiliser had risen marginally since last year, but not enough to warrant the jump in fertiliser price.

“It’s obvious that the fertiliser manufacturers are operating their cartel. The fact that they wouldn’t release fertiliser prices over the last three months and now they’ve jacked up prices just proves how dysfunctional the fertiliser market is in Europe.”

The advice to farmers is to shop around for fertiliser to secure the best price in the new year.

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